Saints Alley "The Herald" Bourbon

A balanced, cask strength, High Rye Bourbon by Saints Alley Spirits; a collaboration between Chris Trevino & the Likarish family from Ironroot Republic in Texas. It is crafted with a blend of MGP’s high rye bourbon & Ironroot’s heirloom corn bourbon that is then finish in Armagnac Casks before being bottled at 53.5. It has an aromatic birth with notes of grains, wood, dried fruits, nuts, herbs & spices; while a complex life adds notes of orange oil, dates, blackberry, fig pudding, honeyed cornbread & anise; that led to a warm death of medium length with notes of rancio, oak, treacle, roasted cashews, Darjeeling tea & tobacco. October 2023

Batch 10 pour...nose is somewhat reticent, but what is there is mildly fruity, somewhat sweet, but with some spice on the edges, baking spices, and a splash of vanilla...but again, you need to work for this one. The palate is much more lively, and is definitely a surprise after the stubborn nose. Plenty of dark fruit, brown sugar, some rye spices, charred wood, a splash of honey, and maybe a bit of cigar...its interesting and gives you something new with each sip. Mouthfeel is slightly thinner than expected (and desired)...not a true detractor, but a trait that was notable at first sip. I'd call this a fun pour...one that I would happily share with others, but admittedly not one that I will look to restock when it eventually bids me adieu...as it felt like something that should sip around $50, maybe more like $60, though I do recognize that it is probably priced accordingly due to the cask aging.

Batch 5, reported to be 6+ year MGP high rye bourbon mixed with a small proportion of Ironroot Harbinger bourbon, then finished in Armagnac casks. Purchased at the distillery Sept 2022. Fruit on the nose - plum, grape skins, orange rind, followed by burnt sugar, vanilla. The palate shows brown sugar over baked apple, apricot, sweet tobacco. The rye of the MGP is evident in the mix. The finish has a little bit of a dark chocolate bitterness that rides out with some baking spice and brown sugar. This is something like the kid brother of Bardstown Laubade. It’s younger MGP and the Armagnac casks are likely younger as well. But it’s well-balanced - the finish doesn’t overpower the bourbon, but gives another layer of complexity. It’s definitely not at the level of the Bardstown, and it’s probably a notch below Joseph Magnus, but at $65 for the bottle, I’d do it again.